Roasted Cauliflower and Lemons with Coriander Seeds and Chickpeas and Herb Sauce.
My kids are all fans of eating cauliflower, and especially when I roast it; the trick to roasted cauliflower tasting extra delicious, is to season it well with salt and lots of lemon juice. The herb sauce here does that job beautifully in this recipe. With the cauliflower cooked through, even nicely burnished in places, it works brilliantly alongside some some chubby warm chickpeas in the dish. And as for the roasted lemon, this is fast becoming a bit of a signature to my cooking, roasted, the lemon is chewy and caramelised, bringing with it a turbo charge of lemon to strong, flavourful cooking such as this recipe. Use unwaxed lemons and be sure to remove the pips. Use any herbs you like here, I used a combination of flat leaf parsley and fresh oregano from my garden.
We ate this for supper last night with some cold roast chicken. Equally so, these flavours would go very well with and / or as a veggie side dish for The Lamb Shank Kleftiko, Lahmucan with Pomegranate, Pine Nut and Parsley and Lamb, Artichoke and Feta Meatballs posted as my series Easter Lamb Recipes
INGREDIENTS
1 enormous cauliflower
3 unwaxed lemons
2 tbsp coriander seeds
Quite a bit of good olive oil, to roast and make the sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
500g chickpeas, drained weight
Big, big bunch of herbs, I used parsley and oregano
1 garlic clove
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 220C (my oven is not fan)
Break the cauliflower down into small florets. Thinly slice 2 of the lemons removing the pips, and roughly crush the coriander seeds. In a large baking tray add all these ingredients and massage in at least 3 - 4 tbsp of olive oil. Add salt and pepper and roast in a single layer until the cauliflower is tender and both cauliflower and lemons are nicely burnished in places. Mine took a good 30 - 35 minutes.
In a small food processor (or simply chop finely and mix together in a bowl) add the the herbs, the juice of remaining lemon, big pinch of salt, plenty of black pepper and around 4 tbsp of olive oil. Blitz to form a smooth green sauce. Check the seasoning, adjust to taste with more lemon if required.
10 minutes before the end of the cauliflower cook time, add the drained chickpeas to the baking tray, a splash more olive oil, and return the tray to the oven for the chickpeas to just warm through.
Remove the cauliflower from the oven, and spoon over with the green sauce, eat warm or room temp or cold as a salad. Serve as a side dish, or standalone, up to you.